The Return to Innocence
by bellaLife
Summary: Edward and Bella’s connection couldn’t be understood throughout their teen years. Then, he destroyed it all and Bella left him forever. Can Charlie’s death and Bella’s return see the two reconciled? Or is there no returning to the innocence of love lost?
1. Prologue

**Disclaimer: Twilight, and all its characters belong to Stephanie Meyer. I just love twisting the stories around.**

**Any reproduction of this story, in whole or in part, is strictly prohibited without the author's written consent.**

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**Prologue.**

That's not the beginning of the end  
That's the return to yourself  
_The return to innocence._  
Love - devotion  
Feeling - emotion

Love - devotion  
Feeling – emotion

**_~Enigma_**

The rain pelted down on to the small black car as if it were angry fists demanding entrance against an unyielding door. The swish of the wiper blades repeated rhythmically in the warm black leather interior, the smell of lavender faint in the air as the heater exhaled its warmth to keep the windshield clear.

She tried to peer through the torrent, the rain running down her windshield like a cascading waterfall; obscuring everything that lay beyond it, yet still she sat there with her fists squeezing the soft leather steering wheel, knuckles white, and her breath jagged in her chest. Her face still bore the signs of her pain, the torture of the news which had been delivered to her almost eight hours ago. Her tear stained cheeks, the bright red painted over the bones, her eyes pink and wet, all bore to the silent anguish she was trying to hold inside as she navigated the treacherous winding roads of Forks, Washington.

The little car-a BMW coupe- handled each turn with grace, remaining flat against the asphalt, the wheels slicing through the water that covered the road, as its driver tried to hold on to her wits and her control. Outside, a lush green forest surrounded and blanketed everything; there was no tree or rock that wasn't covered in large fanning leaves or thick velvety moss. It was everything, deep mint, jade, sage, every green in existence she had once said could be found just by looking in the forests of Forks, even those that had yet to be discovered.

She was going back; back to place she said she would never look upon again. Returning to where it had all began; the sleepy town, the simple people, the lush forest and never-ending rain. She was going back to the place where her pride had been dismantled, her trust in men destroyed-though it had since been rebuilt to some extent- and the love of her life abandoned. She was going back to the place where her innocence was lost and she was faced with the very real fact- there are no fairytale endings and soul mates and loves of your life were created to make women one day become idiots at the feet of men. It was the place where she had become jaded and her soul destroyed by the pain of unrequited love and rejection, as if the abandonment she already felt wasn't enough.

As her nose crinkled she braced herself for what was to come, burying the man who had sired her, the man who had loved her as best he could yet never accomplished making her feel it... her father.

Now, all the ghosts were rising from the moss, trying to stake a claim to her memories as she turned familiar bends towards what was once her home.

Get in and get out.

Those words were all she could think of as her mind still tried to process the news; he was dead. Her father was never coming back. She was now officially, all alone in the world.

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**Reviews are welcomed, but not a must.**


	2. Chapter 1: At First Look

**I'd like to thank my awesome betas over at Project Team Beta for doing a superb job in editing this chapter and the prologue.**

**As always, I am not Stephanie Meyer nor am I in anyway affiliated with her. I just the amazing characters she created and enjoying making them do strange, odd and wonderful things with each other.**

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**Chapter 1.**

The First Look.

_Forks, Washington 1997._

The first day of school is always the most nerve-wracking; new teachers, new classes and new things to learn. For someone entirely foreign to the environment around them, it was a waking nightmare- an anxiety attack waiting to happen, and Bella Swan could feel it building.

She sat at the back of the room, the farthest seat in the corner, trying to hide behind a book, her well-worn copy of Jane Austen's Emma. Her mahogany hair was worn in a simple ponytail at the nape of her neck, caramel and dark chocolate against her creamy skin. Her nerves were raw, sheered beyond repair by nights of anxiety over this very day. Bella was a shy girl, incredibly shy. Her skin was pale, even for those who lived in Forks;, which said a lot, since the sun rarely shone in the town known for its near constant rainfall. Her clothes were simple; some might have even called them matronly. Despite being fourteen years old and living in the twentieth century, where skimpy and close-fitting abounded, she chose a calf-length, peach-colored sundress, a white, long-sleeved cardigan, and black Mary Janes. As she sat there, large almond-shaped brown eyes peering, he walked in.

He was tall, taller than anyone else in their class. He was easily five feet eight inches, with copper hair that stood in a multitude of spikes upon his head. He wore all black, from his close fitting jeans to his Def Leppard t-shirt. He had a thick leather band with spikes around his left wrist and a long chain which hung from his belt and disappeared into his back pocket. His face was grim; lips pursed together tightly, nostrils slightly flared as if he were furious about something, and his eyes firmly set on the floor as he marched into the room. No one else seemed to notice him, but Bella noticed him, maybe a little too much.

He walked with firm, authoritative steps and oozed trouble from every pore. She watched him with her mouth agape as he stalked the first aisle and came to rest at the seat in the far corner, the mirror to hers. She didn't mean to stare; it was terribly rude and she was in fact a very polite girl… but she couldn't help herself. She had never seen the likes of him before, at least not in real life. In Phoenix, the place that was once her home but was now somewhere she had to put behind her,she had been enrolled at a private all girls' school; where they wore uniforms and attended mass every morning. Forks and its public school was quite a change for her.

She blinked rapidly, like a photo shutter, drinking in this strange, out of place boy who seemed annoyed to even be there. She studied his shoes, black and white Converse with black skull and cross bone socks that peeked out beneath the hem of his jeans. The jeans were faded, obviously worn far too many times and washed in a colour safe detergent. Her eyes travelled over his stomach and his chest as she read the name on it in its bold print. Her eyes climbed further still, over the pale skin of his neck, up his chin and over the soft plump pink lips that were to be found there. She studied his nose, which would have been a perfect structure upon his face, if it were not slightly crooked. Finally she met his eyes, which were glaring right back at her.

Bella jumped and immediately turned away, her eyes fixed on the large chalkboard at the front of the class. She dared not look to see if he was still glaring; she could feel his gaze travelling across the room and pricking her skin like needles in a cushion. She was never so thankful to see the teacher walk into the room a few seconds later. Mr. Varner was a short and stocky man with a slight bald patch, whose remaining hair had been expertly brushed over to hide it.

"Well, students it's a new year and there is much to learn," he began, addressing the room which had become instantly silent upon his arrival. He began writing his name in large letters on the board, the chalk scraping against it causing a rash of goose bumps to crawl up her arms.

"So, as most of you know, I'm Mr. Varner and I will be your homeroom teacher for this year, as well as your class teacher for all of you taking biology." He smiled a pleasant, toothy grin and then proceeded to flip open the pages of a large hardcover book. "Right, let's get started. Mark Abernathy? Angela Ainsley?" he began calling the attendance list. Each name was called in the same pleasant tone as the first until he reached M. Bella watched nervously as Mr. Varner looked at the name before him and then looked around the classroom, spotting the strange angry boy in the corner. "Edward Masen?" he asked almost incredulously and then continued when the boy refused to answer like those before him. Bella's forehead crinkled at this, it wasn't customary for someone not to respond when their name was called in attendance. What struck her as even more of an oddity was that no one seemed to care.

Eventually he came to S. The goosebumps on Bella's arms seeming to rise higher and she struggled to swallow.

"Ah, I see we have a new student," Mr. Varner announced as he reached her name and the entire class looked around at her, everyone but the boy known as Edward Masen. "Please come up here?" he called to her with a beckoning hand. Bella could feel her face contort slightly at the unpleasantness that was coming- the dreaded 'introduce yourself'.

She pushed her seat away tentatively and tripped over her own bag on her way out from behind her desk, causing a soft murmur of giggles to fill the room. She swallowed back the huge boulder in her throat as she walked slowly to the font of the class, her hands clasped together angelically before her and her eyes on the square tile she was about to step on. When she finally stood before the room, she felt naked and exposed to those peering, questioning eyes, all wondering who she was and where she'd come from.

"Class," Mr. Varner began as he placed a hand on each of Bella's shoulders. "This is Isabella Swan, the daughter of our new Chief of Police, Charlie Swan. Isabella would you like to tell the class something about yourself?" he said with an encouraging smile as he removed his hands from her shoulders and leaned against the edge of his desk looking expectantly at her.

Bella swallowed once more and almost chocked on her own saliva. She looked at the class of twenty-nine and then took a deep breath.

"Hi," she began tentatively, the nervousness evident in her small voice. "I'm Isabella, but I like Bella instead," she continued and looked at Mr. Varner as if to ask if that was okay. He just smiled back at her and listened. She returned her gaze to the class, her eyes touching on each face. "Umm…my dad's the new Chief of Police," she started and an under breath, "we know that" came out to meet her from somewhere amongst her giggling classmates.

"Quiet," Mr. Varner commanded and the room was once again still. "Please continue, Bella," Mr. Varner urged, still smiling.

"We moved here at the beginning of summer, my dad and I. He grew up here and after my mother died, he thought it was a good idea to come back. I was born in Phoenix, Arizona. I'm an only child. I'm fourteen," she said, each time looking at Mr. Varner for any cue that she had said enough. It didn't come. Instead, he sat there quietly listening to her as embarrassment and discomfort painted her cheeks.

Edward hadn't expected much from this school year- he never did. He had come to Forks two years ago and had immediately been labelled as trouble because of his dark clothing, stern appearance and his "issues with authority" as the guidance counsellor informed his mother, Elizabeth.

Each year was the same; the teachers hassled him and he returned the favour, simple as that. He was no one's favourite pet. In fact, most teachers would have preferred it if he didn't have to attend class at all since he was such a disturbance at nearly every opportunity. The principal was well aware of his exploits: picking fights, defacing school property, and of course his lack of discipline. He had warmed the seats of her office on many occasions, but this year she had promised that if he was sent to her office one more time, he would not be facing another suspension-it would be expulsion.

He had been awakened by the shoving of rough hands against his shoulders, followed by a firm slap across the back of his head. "Get up!" the male voice yelled at him. "Your mother needs you to get the baby ready so she can get ready for work," Tyler bellowed at him before peppering his head with a few more slaps to make sure Edward did as he was told. It was always the same at home; Tyler slapped him around and his mother did nothing. He took care of the baby while Tyler, the child's father, drank his beer before heading off to the mill or into town to meet his buddies for pool. How or why his mother was with the man, he couldn't understand, but he knew well enough never to ask.

Ever since Edward Sr. and Elizabeth Masen had divorced, a very messy affair where both claimed infidelity and argued to the very end about who got what- everything that is, except their only son- things had been different for Edward. He no longer had nice clothes nor did he go to the "good" school like he had in California. His father had disappeared entirely from his life, leaving him with a mother who had never wanted him in the first place. Elizabeth Masen was a woman with few goals and even less ambition to achieve them. She simply wanted someone to pay her bill and run her house, and someone had given her the idea that having children was the best way to get and keep a man. Little did she realize she was also expected to raise said children.

She was a neglectful mother, overly consumed with what she had and what she could get, rather than her son. Edward Sr. was a noted neurosurgeon and an extremely busy man. He had no time for his son and in such situations, Edward, had to raise himself. He became self-reliant, independent and stubborn at a young age. By the time his parents' marriage began to fall apart, so had his behaviour. Edward's outward rage reflected the inner turmoil of his home, though none would know i since everyone believed the good doctor and his wife to be the happiest of couples. Their divorce came as a shock to everyone but Edward; he had witnessed the steady decay first hand.

When the divorce was final, the papers signed and the property divided, Elizabeth moved back to her home town of Forks, where she had a house. Her mother had left it to her in her will, but Elizabeth had never intended to use it. Now, with very few options waiting in the wings, she was forced to go home and start over. Edward hated it, of course. He wanted to stay in California with his father and his friends, but he was the child; he didn't get a say. The people who had rarely paid attention to him were now demanding he follow their commands. He burned with rage that went unextinguished, and as the years passed by, it grew into an inferno that he could no longer control. He had outbursts, lost his temper easily and got into fights more often than the average rainfall in Forks. He was a child on the brink, many said. But in reality, he was looking for someone to pull him back from the precipice and quite possibly the jail cell which loomed dangerously in his future.

It was with this grim outlook that Edward stalked the halls of Forks High School looking for his new class. He found the room easily, not even hesitating on its location and walked inside as he always did, head down and deep in thought. He didn't need to look up; most knew to stay out of his way and those that didn't soon got a fat lip and learned their lesson. Edward was the "bad boy" of Forks; the troublemaker that all the girls pined over, the startling handsome boy whose heart seemed as dark as the clothing he wore, and every girl wanted to be on his arm.

He hadn't noticed her when he walked in and quickly found his seat, flopping onto the wood and steel chair, causing it to scrape against the floor. He sat there, thinking about the principal's warning and wondering what would happen to him if he did get expelled. Would his mother send him away? There were no other high schools in Forks- it was here or nowhere. Would he end up pumping gas at the local service station by the time he was sixteen, a career destined to be his for the rest of his life? His hand clenched at the thought. Edward may not have shown ambition, his grades just above average, but he didn't want to be stuck in a rinky-dink town pumping gas for a living. He wanted to be someone, he just didn't know how.

The hair on the back of his neck prickled as his body sensed what he hadn't noticed-eyes staring at him from afar. His eyes rose imperceptivity as he scanned the room, looking for the source behind this sensation and finding her sitting across the room from him. She was beautiful, with clean milk skin, deep mahogany hair, and the most intense brown eyes he had ever seen. The faint rays of sunlight filtered through breaks in the clouds and illuminated the window behind her, casting her silhouette in an ethereal glow. He swore he was seeing an angel; there was no other person in the school who looked the way she did and she definitely hadn't been there last semester. His posture straightened slightly as he watched her staring at him, gazing at him from foot to head, apparently in shock…or was it awe? He peered at her, trying to decipher where she'd come from and who on earth had dressed her in that outfit, which reminded him of clothing suited for someone older.

When their eyes met, he was slapped in the face by her exquisitenesses as he tried to study every angle of her face, looking for some flaw. Women were not perfect, far less teenaged girls; yet this girl, whomever she was, certainly seemed closer to it than he had ever seen. Then, her eyes raced away from his quickly and he was left to stare at her, which he did.

By the time Mr. Varner had entered, Edward had carefully studied the lines of the strange girl's dress, the look of her legs in her Mary Jane shoes and the way her cardigan hid her frame from view. He also noted how incredibly still she was. She had hardly moved an inch since he had caught her staring and she'd turned to face the front of the class.

Mr. Varner did the usual meet and greet the class on the first day, and even bothered to call attendance, something most teachers would not have done since they all knew their students from previous years. Edward slumped further into his seat, his hand drawing imaginary circles on the desk in front of him as Mr. Varner began with the "A" column.

Yada…

Yada…

Yada…

Those were the words Edward heard until Mr. Varner announced the new student. Edward instantly perked up at the bit of news and his eyes looked up infinitesimally, as the girl fumbled to get to her feet and then slowly walked up the aisle to the front of the room. How antiquated was all Edward could think, making you stand in front of the room to introduce yourself. Hadn't that gone out the door with poodle skirts and ribbons in your hair at eighteen? He rolled his eyes and looked away, though his ears were keenly attuned to what the young woman, Isabella Swan, had to say.

He listened to her tell a room full of strangers that her mother had died and her father had chosen to come back to this hell hole of a town. Edward found this interesting as he himself had never uttered a word about his family situation to anyone. Most people thought his father was a deadbeat like Tyler, a man who had gotten his mother pregnant and just abandoned them. Edward never saw the need to correct them. Why should he try to save the face of a man who had never looked back on him once since he'd divorced his mother?

Edward found, with an unnerving sensation, that he rather liked hearing this Isabella Swan speak. Her voice was clear and almost melodic; as if her every word was part of some song that no one knew but was going to be an instant number one hit. He didn't look at her. Edward Masen showed interest in nothing to do with the classroom, and he wasn't about to spoil his perfectly good reputation.

"Thank you, Miss Swan," Mr. Varner finally interrupted and both Bella and Edward were relieved. Bella, because she really couldn't think of anything more to say, and Edward, because he found the act she was being subjected to painful. Mr. Varner continued attendance.

Once the roster was fully checked and every name was accounted for, Mr. Varner handed out their schedules and began the 'what is expected of you this year' speech. Bella clasped her hands in front of her with her elbows on the desk as she leaned in, listening intently, while Edward leaned back in his seat, closed his eyes and promptly fell asleep.

When the bell chimed, announcing the end of first period, everyone clambered to their feet and gathered their things to leave. Bella looked at her schedule with a prominent crease in her forehead as she tried to make out the indistinguishable map on the paper she held. She turned her head to the right, turned the page to the left, and still it made no sense. The paper stated she had English now in block B2, but she couldn't find it on the map. She stood there puzzled, entirely too nervous and embarrassed to ask anyone for help.

"What do you have next?" a cheery voice piped up and clear, light brown eyes peered over the top of her paper. The girl was shorter than Bella; which was something, as Bella wasn't statuesque in the least at five feet and two inches tall. The girl had to be at least four inches shorter, with a big grin on her face and long dark hair that she wore in a single braid down her back. Her ears were slightly pointy as were her nose and chin- a heart shaped face just like Bella's- and her body was thin and pale.

"Umm…I have English with Mr. Sawyer," Bella explained, still wondering who on Earth this girl was.

"That's wonderful!" the little pixie replied, and Bella found herself trying to muffle a small laugh.

"Is it?" She wasn't entirely sure what the girl was getting at.

"Yes, silly," the girl continued. "That means we're in the same class together! I'm Alice. Alice Brandon," she said as she held out her hand to Bella, her fingers mere inches from her face. Bella took her hand, slowly lowering it to an appropriate height, before shaking it firmly.

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Alice. I'm Bella."

"I know. Let's get to class," Alice continued in her chipper tone and Bella followed slowly behind her as they left the room. She didn't notice Edward, still in his seat watching her leave.

He had watched the whole scene and found it almost comical the way that Alice, the human sugarplum fairy, just bounded over to Bella without hesitation and proceeded to engage her in conversation. She had even ingratiated herself into her company for the walk to their next class, which was apparently English. Edward had history next period, but he and Mrs. Henley were already well acquainted with his method of study: miss half the class and get there in time for the good stuff. He had plenty of time to kill, so he put his feet up on his desk, placed his hands behind his head and peered up at the ceiling, wondering what they were going to serve for lunch that day.

The day passed quickly and Bella found it wasn't as unpleasant as she had imagined it would be. She had been forced to introduce herself in only one other class, and she was thrilled to discover that Alice had four classes with her. The pair walked together for the entire day; Alice insisting that even if they didn't have the same class, she would ensure that Bella found her way. People like Alice, the chipper bubbly type, used to annoy Bella back in Phoenix, but now she was thankful for her.

"Well here you are - gym!" Alice chirped as she and Bella arrived at the large double doors of the gym. It was the final two periods of the day and Bella was already more than anxious to go home and curl up in bed. Exhaustion had hit her around fifth period, which was expected since she had slept so poorly the night before.

"Thank you, Alice," she replied with a smile. "You have been really great to show me around all day. I hope I didn't put you out?" she questioned and Alice she shook her head and waved her off. "Well, I guess I'll see you tomorrow then," Bella continued as she turned to enter the gym.

"Sure. I can meet you out front and help you find your classes again," Alice replied in excitement. Bella shook her head; the girl really was too hyper. She nodded a goodbye, then pushed the doors open and allowed them to swing shut behind her.

The gym was already occupied by people who were either dressed or on their way to get dressed for the class.

"Miss Swan?" a firm male voice called from across the room. Bella noticed the gym teacher, Mr. Hamilton, for the first time.

"Yes, sir?" she responded as her feet quickly carried her towards him.

"Right, says here that you're new," he mentioned, not looking up from the clipboard in his hand. "You'll find a gym uniform over there," he said, pointing to the first bench in the bleachers. "You can get changed through there," he said, pointing at another pair of swinging doors to the left. Bella stood there in shock. He actually wanted her to participate in class today? Weren't first day gym classes supposed to be just sitting around and talking about what you were going to learn for the semester, not actually participating in an activity? She bit her lip nervously. She was no good at gym.

Mr. Hamilton's attention was still squarely on his clipboard, but he noticed from the corner of his eye that Bella had yet to move. He looked up at her piqued expression. "Nothing to be afraid of. Chop. Chop," he urged. Bella nodded her head wordlessly and went to the bench to collect her gear.

Minutes later, Bella was stepping out of the girls' locker room in a uniform which had obviously been meant for a larger person with more curves. Bella had developed early yes, having breasts at eight and her period by nine, but she was hardly as curvaceous as the clothes she was now dressed in would suggest. Apparently her actual physique hadn't been taken into consideration when the uniform had been selected. In fact, it seemed they thought Bella to be twice her size. The pants fit longer than they were intended, were baggy and swam around her waist. If it weren't for her hips and behind, they would have fallen off, though she still had the drawstring pulled to its maximum to hold them in place. The shirt was the same, fitting too loosely around her frame and making her look as if she had dressed in the dark from a pregnant woman's closet. She hugged her arms around her waist as she walked across the room to take a seat with the rest of the class. She had tried all her life, since her body had begun to change to its pubescent form, to hide her curves with loose fitting clothing, sweaters and frocks, but this was ridiculous. She could only imagine it had been her father's way of avoiding male attention from settling on her, since someone had to have come down and picked out the uniform. Laughter immediately greeted her as she approached the bleachers, and her face was red with mortification. She didn't notice the male in all black sitting at the top of the bleachers staring at her.

Edward had meandered into class ten minutes after the bell and promptly stalked his way to the top bleacher. No matter what anyone did or said, he was not going to wear those tacky red and white pants that looked as if they were ripped off from one of Santa's elves. He would play sports in exactly what he had on now or in nothing at all. The teachers were well aware of his preference from the last time they had tried to force him to wear the uniform and he had attempted to strip naked, preferring his nudity to the uniform. Needless to say, his stunt worked and now no one bothered with whether or not he changed.

He had the best seat in the house. He was able to see everyone from where he sat and just barely able to hear Mr. Hamilton speak, though he would have preferred not to hear him at all.

"Edward!" Emmett called as he raised a hand in greeting. Victoria something-or-the-other, hung from his other arm like a vine.

"Yo, Em!" he called back with a nod of his head, as Emmett quickly scaled the stairs to sit beside him.

"Did you see the new girl, kid?" Emmett inquired as they waited for the rest of the class to assemble. "I hear she's the Chief of Police's daughter," he continued, as if this was privileged information he was sharing.

"She's in my homeroom," Edward said distractedly as his eyes spotted the object of their conversation exiting the locker area. He chuckled to himself as he watched her, with her arms wrapped protectively around herself in clothes that were obviously not her size.

"What?" Emmett asked as he tried to gauge where Edward was looking.

"There," he said with a nod of his head. "That's the new girl, Bella Swan," he informed Emmett and they both stared down at her.

"Shit! What's with her uniform? If it were any bigger, she'd disappear," Emmett chuckled. Edward remained quiet, silently observing the way she carried her body despite the awkward and unflattering apparel. He knew there was something to see under those billows of fabric which swallowed her entirely. He had seen in it homeroom as she walked to the front of the class, those faint brushes of her dress against her thighs and the subtle protrusion of her chest as she stood there with her hands clasped. He smirked at the memory of her nervous introduction, and settled in for class once she had taken her seat.

The rain had begun to fall at almost the same time that Mr. Hamilton began to speak. He announced they would be playing volleyball, and he would divide the class into teams. It was only when he announced Edward's name that she realised they were in the same class together, and in fact on the same team.

"These are the teams you will be on for the remainder of the school year, so get used to it people. Now, grab your balls and get out there!" Mr. Hamilton ordered and Bella lingered in her seat.

"That sounded all kinds of wrong, man," Emmett joked as he and Edward stalked down the stairs together. Emmett McCarty was the easier of the two to get along with, and like Edward, he was a favourite of the female populace of Forks High School. Emmett was burly for his age, an obvious professional football player in the making. He had actually gotten wrangled into playing on the team; once he realised the pull it had on ladies, he never looked back.

They reached the bottom step just as Mr. Hamilton addressed Bella. They slipped by unnoticed.

"Miss Swan, is there a problem?" Mr. Hamilton asked as he sauntered over to where Bella sat.

"Um, Mr. Hamilton, I was wondering. Is it possible for me to get a new set of gym clothes. These are too big," she informed him. She stood and spread her arms for emphasis, looking like an eagle spreading its wings.

"Well," he began as he tried to suppress a smirk. "Those do seem a bit big for you, but I'm afraid there is nothing I can do right now. You'll just have to make do and see if they can exchange it at the office later." He was no help at all, and Bella had sincerely hoped he would be.

She spent the rest of the class trying to avoid being hit by ricocheting balls, while simultaneously trying to keep her pants up around her waist. Edward slammed the ball over the net several times; his athletic side making an appearance for the moment, before he returned to his aloof 'James Dean' persona. Bella glanced at him once or twice, admiring his skill, which made her feel even more awkward. He was almost graceful in the way he vaulted the ball into the air, his arm coming up at just the right time to make the connection and keep the ball in play. She was fumbling with her slipping pants; the drawstring loosening as she tried to avoid being struck by the ball, the other team already marking her as the weakest player. By the end of class, she was exhausted and very thankful to be back in her sundress and sweater. The highlights of her day were now over.

She strode from the gym without a second glance, the stack of oversized clothes under her arm as she went to the office to have them exchanged. Ten minutes and several sweet smiles later, she had a uniform that actually fit. She left the school building for the parking lot, expecting to catch the bus with everyone her horror there was her father, sitting prominently on the hood of his police cruiser with his hands folded over his chest, waiting for her.

She heard several sniggers and rushed to get into the car before the rest of the school came out to find this spectacle. Gym, as it would appear, had been let out early, so the numbers who witnessed the scene were few. However, Bella was sure that the gossip would spread before she got to school the next morning.

"Hi, Dad," she said quickly as she rushed around to the passenger side and climbed in. Charlie took his good sweet time, looking at every face who peered at him with a smirk before he got in. Bella turned away from the building in an attempt to hide her face and her shame. It was bad enough to be Chief Swan's daughter, but it was worse to have him pick you up from school like you were three, especially in a squad car.

The pair drove out of the lot and onto the main highway as Emmett and Edward sparked up a dubie, watching them go. The pair had come out as soon as class was over and found a nice, secluded spot near the tree line on the far side of the lot to get high.

"That Bella girl is strange huh, Edward?" Emmett said as he took two long puffs. "I mean, getting her dad to come pick her up in the squad car and all," he continued, as he coughed out his first lungful of smoke.

Edward said nothing. He watched the black and white cruiser as it drove away at a moderate clip. He took his first drag of the afternoon as he remembered a pretty girl in a peach dress making a nervous introduction.

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**As always, reviews are welcomed.**


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